1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to baseball bats and rackets, and more specifically to an apparatus that combines the overall shape and features of a baseball bat with a racket-type head strung with elastic tubing.
2. Related Art
This invention has its roots in baseball. The beginnings of this game originate in Nineteenth Century America as a variation of the many games that made use of some type of bat and ball. It has a long history associated with it, developing from an amateur sport into one that is professional, where spectators pay to watch highly skilled athletes play what is now know as "America's Pastime."
The game of baseball has traditionally been a sport that requires strength and accuracy of the batter to hit thrown balls far away from any opponent. The underlying strategy and primary tactic of this game is to score more points than the opposing team, often by hitting home runs (a phenomenon by which the hitter strikes the thrown ball with a held bat and projects it outside the bounds of the playing field). The problem in achieving home runs with a baseball bat, however, is that the skill level needed to accurately hit and place the ball and the strength required to project the ball a far distance must both be high.
Conventional baseball bats have a narrow head and thin handle, and when the hitter is attempting to hit the ball, little room for error exists when trying to connect bat to ball. The hitter's hand-eye coordination must be high to accurately hit the ball because the narrow size of the head means that possibility of connecting bat to ball is less. Repeated failures when trying to hit the ball with such a bat often leaves the player frustrated. Thus, without the requisite skill needed to accurately hit and place the ball, the batter often connects inadequately or misses completely, and without the opportunity to practice, the player often "gives up," frequently not returning to practice which is necessary to achieve the desired skill.
Such frustration is felt the most among players with special needs. There are many different types of players that have special needs, ranging from the very young to the very old and to the physically and mentally handicapped. An important application of special needs players are the various team competitions during the Special Olympics wherein handicapped players compete in baseball, softball and other related sporting events. These players often have difficulty in handling a conventional baseball or softball bat, and in many instances the players are unable to hit a ball with any success or without assistance.
Therefore, there is a need for a baseball-type apparatus that facilitates the playing of bat and ball sports wherein among players with special needs can play unassisted and achieve immediate success with hitting and placing a ball.
Additionally, because of the thin handle on a traditional baseball bat, the batter's upper body strength and hand strength must both be great in order to swing the bat effectively to hit the ball a far distance. Without the requisite strength needed to forcefully hit the ball, the player often grounds the ball or hits pop-flies. Both of these types of hits makes it easier for an opponent to intercept the ball and throw the hitter out. Traditionally, a deep fly or home-run is what the hitter seeks to achieve, and historically it was the invention of wooden bats that assisted the hitter in obtaining this goal. The theory behind this being that a heavy bat combined with a strong swing would propel the ball far and high into the air. Unfortunately, though, this discouraged many classes of people outside the stereotyped strong, athletic male from playing the sport because the need for such strength in handling the wooden bat was so great.
From this sport of baseball, derivative ball games, such as softball, stickball, tee-ball and wiffle-ball, have emerged in America's culture. Each of these variations developed to fulfill particular needs and desires of the American public, each with their own requirements and constraints. With the advent of these related sports and subsequent experimentation in the design of the baseball bat, two derivative inventions were discovered--the aluminum bat and the plastic bat. Though lighter in weight, which alleviated some of the strength required to effectively swing a bat in traditional baseball, this light weight creates an additional problem for the hitter. Many batters lose control of such a bat upon the finish of a powerful swing, and this loss of control often causes injury to both sideline players and other bystanders on the field.
Besides these problems, baseball and its derivative ball games have a limited appeal. Each serves a purpose unto themselves, and generally each variation only fulfills their intended purpose. Baseball is both a professional and amateur game, traditionally associated with strong, youthful men. As a predominately male sport, baseball, specifically, has less appeal, because of the perceived physicality needed to be good at the game. While softball developed to make the game of baseball more appealing to those less strong, those a bit older or younger in years, and those of generally less skill, it still requires a certain amount of skill and strength to play effectively. Stickball, whose bat is basically a thin "broom-handle" type stick, has limited appeal because of the traditional geography on which it is played--the streets of the inner cities. Significantly younger people have been afforded the opportunity to compete in still similar ball games through the developments of tee-ball and wiffle-ball, though these batting games are generally reserved only for that class of person.
Therefore, there is a need for a baseball-type bat that is similar in overall appearance and dimensions of a conventional baseball bat, but is easier for a user to swing and achieve greater distance and accuracy.
Moving away from the sport of baseball and related batting games is the racket game of tennis. Tennis is another sport wherein a racket is used to hit and thereby project a ball away from the player. Unlike baseball, however, the game of tennis requires the ball to be hit and accurately placed within a confined set of boundaries. Therefore, the tennis racket is designed to accurately hit a ball short distances. The oval shaped racket is generally made of wood, aluminum or graphite, while the head-face is usually strung with resilient gut or nylon in an interwoven pattern, and the handle is long and thick because most players prefer one-handed over two-handed swings.
Therefore, there is a need for a racket-type apparatus having a racket head-face that gives a user better control in placing a baseball and provides the means for the user to hit a baseball long distances.